Private and Personal: Questions and Answers for Girls Only [Paperback]

Carol Weston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2000

I'm not popular and I don't get it because I do what all the cool girls do.

My best friend thinks she is fat...We think she might have an eating disorder.

My parents treat me like a baby.

My so-called best friend wrote me a letter and it really hurt my feelings.

My boyfriend really likes me but I don't like him that much anymore.

What's wrong with me? I don't have a boyfriend!

I'm afraid I'm growing up too fast!

Thousands of girls just like you have written to Carol Weston for advice about their bodies, boyfriends, periods, pimples, friendships, family matters and more.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Carol Weston, author of Girltalk: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You and For Girls Only: Wise Words, Good Advice, and columnist for Girl's Life magazine, gets personal again with Private and Personal. The book is aptly dedicated to "every girl who thought she was alone"; Weston responds to hundreds of letters from girls who are struggling with questions they can't bear to ask anyone else.

"All my friends' breasts are developing faster than mine. I'm kind of jealous." "I'm not popular and I don't get it because I do what all the cool girls do." "I am totally in love with my best friend's boyfriend and I think he likes me, too." "I think I might be a lesbian." "I need help with my dad. It seems we hardly go a day without fighting." Weston's refreshingly upbeat, down-to-earth, sympathetic, and understanding answers are sure to satisfy even the most desperate of preteens and teens. She never veers off course in her effort to encourage kids to be healthy, smart, and true to themselves and others. Without a doubt, every 11- to 16-year-old girl should find answers to at least one question (if not 20 or 100) she has wondered about. The book is handily divided into categories: "Oh Me Oh My" (self-esteem, finding out who you are), "Let's Get Physical" (body image, periods, eating well, etc.), "Friendship Frustrations," "The Whole Boyfriend Thing," and "Family Matters." Start at the beginning or open up randomly--either way, just wade right in! (Ages 11 to 16) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Weston has compiled questions and answers from 15 years worth of her "Help!" column in Girls' Life magazine. Though the "frequently-asked-questions" style can be dry and one-dimensional, the author creates an atmosphere of chatting with a close friend over cocoa. Issues such as nutrition, family problems, skin care, periods, worry and depression, friendships, and boyfriends are addressed in an easy, approachable style. The author writes to her audience for the purpose of encouragement, building self-esteem, and offering basic advice on growing up in our times. A solid, serviceable addition.
Kim Harris, Newman Riga Library, Churchville, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 347 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380810255
• ISBN-13: 978-0380810253
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,919,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carol Weston writes for kids, teens, and grown-ups and has been the advice columnist at Girls' Life for 15 years. Newsweek calls her a "Teen Dear Abby," and Parenting says, "Carol Weston gets girls." The daughter of writers, Carol went to high school in Armonk (BHHS) and France (SYA). At Yale, she studied comp lit, graduating summa cum laude. In Madrid, Spain, she got an M.A. from Middlebury--and met her husband, playwright Rob Ackerman.

Her first book, GIRLTALK: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You (HarperCollins), has been translated into ten languages and in print since 1985. Now in a fully updated fourth edition, it's as sensible, encouraging, and "outstanding" (School Library Journal) as ever.

Carol loves being a guru for girls, but uh oh, she'd always meant to write fiction! Finally she gave herself some advice: Do it! In 2000, Knopf published The Diary of Melanie Martin, a funny novel about a traveling girl and her brother Matt the Brat. (Psst, their art teacher mom doesn't know that the kids' favorite museum game is Point Out the Naked People.)

What else? Carol and Rob live in Manhattan with two daughters and one cat. Her birthday is September 11, and she likes Boggle, Hearts, Bananagrams, skiing, walking, art museums, foreign films, dark chocolate, and good books. She thanks you for ordering her books and invites you to visit carolweston.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Private And Personal Hits the Mark, May 24, 2000

By 

Kyla Brennan (Denver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Private and Personal: Questions and Answers for Girls Only (Paperback)

I found Private and Personal, by Carol Weston, to be a very lively, engaging book for girls. It offers sensible advice to questions that a lot of girls would not feel comfortable asking anyone else. I would definitely recommend this book to any girls who need a good humored, solid voice of reason in their lives.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bible for Teens, April 24, 2000

By 

Meredith Ganon (Rye, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Private and Personal: Questions and Answers for Girls Only (Paperback)

The book is set up as questions from readers and answers from Carol. Many of the questions were questions I have. The answers were well-thought-out and helpful. They helped me to understand things I was too embarrassed to ask my Mom, and I definitely recommend this book to any teenager.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS THE ONE!, June 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Private and Personal: Questions and Answers for Girls Only (Paperback)

This book is full of questions that I had but was too embarrassed to ask anyone. When I got the book for my birthday, I read the whole thing through but now I usually just reread certain parts, like if I'm having trouble with a friend or guy or something. It's as if Carol Weston is a mindreader! I like her magazine column too.